Lobo Named Telethon Chairwoman

Familiar Faces

Rebecca Lobo, one of the most honored female basketball players in the country and a hometown hero from Southwick, Mass., will serve as chairwoman of the 1997 Children's Miracle Network broadcast.

``Rebecca's standing in the community personifies the mission of CMN and Baystate Medical Center Children's Hospital, which is to improve the health and well-being of children in our community,'' said David Lorenzatti, public affairs director for Baystate, located in Springfield.

Since its first broadcast in 1987, the Children's Miracle Network has raised nearly $4 million, which has been used to fund more than 300 projects, including construction and renovation, the purchase of new equipment, and support for new and continuing programs at Baystate Medical Center Children's Hospital, Mary Lane Hospital in Ware, Mass., and Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, Mass.

In four years at the University of Connecticut, Lobo averaged 16.9 points per game, and she led the Huskies to a national championship and an undefeated season in 1995, when she was voted Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Final Four tournament.

Last summer, Lobo was a member of the U.S. women's basketball team, which won the gold medal at the Olympics in Atlanta.

Lobo also excelled off the court. She was the only basketball player in history to earn both Big East Player of the Year and Scholar of the Year honors twice during her college career.

Last year's Children's Miracle Network broadcast raised $500,174 and was the first local telethon to surpass $500,000 in pledges.

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Three Somers High School students won gold key awards in the 1997 Scholastic Art Awards competition. Abby, Leeanne and Jenelle Williams will receive $100 awards for their outstanding art projects in a ceremony at the University of Hartford's Lincoln Theater on Saturday.

In addition to the gold key award, Jenelle Williams' self-portrait was selected to receive the National Best in Show Award and will be included in the National Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition with winners from around the country. Jenelle Williams also won a regional award for a mixed-media art project.

A figure by Abby Williams inspired by Native American kachina dancers, a still-life painting by Leeanne Williams, and Jenelle Williams' painting and collage will all be on view at the Taub Hall Gallery of the University of Hartford through Feb. 7.

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Edward Neilson was honored at the annual meeting of the First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Suffield on Sunday.

Neilson, a longtime member and deacon emeritus, was dubbed ``First Chef'' and given an apron, a spatula and a hat enscribed with the title.

The honor was in recognition of the many breakfasts he has prepared over the years, from the annual Christmas breakfast to ``Steak and Song,'' in which he cooked steaks outside on a winter evening for the church's annual music program fund-raiser.

Neilson and his wife, Norma, live on Halladay Avenue. They have three children.

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Porter and Chester Institute in Chicopee, Mass., had its graduation ceremonies on Jan. 23 at Chez Josef's in Agawam. Here are the local graduates: